The RAB Movement, a newly-launched Redfern advocacy group, has discovered a more convenient way to source fresh produce supplies to donate to families in need across Sydney during the lockdown.
Founder Lisa Mundine, a Wiradjuri/Bundjalung woman born in Redfern, has been using Bright Sparge’s Share And Share Alike app to ensure the deliveries of food hampers to 300 families every week so they won’t have to worry about their next meal.
Ms Mundine said that the Share And Share Alike app, developed by Charbel Yamouni in 2020 due to the long lockdown in Melbourne, has been a promising tool as it allowed The RAB Movement to provide for more people despite the extended restrictions in NSW.
Her advocacy, which was established in June 2021 or weeks before Sydney entered into a lockdown, relieves families of the pressures of thriving in this challenging period.
Ms Mundine acknowledges that their work is not the whole solution to the problem of food security but extending support is their small way of keeping vulnerable communities optimistic. In the last two decades, she has also help network Indigenous Australian people and businesses for employment opportunities, projects, or supplies.
On the other hand, Yamouni, who also distributes food supplies and basic items like clothes and toiletries, was motivated to come up with the app to reduce the problems of distributing perishable goods. He said that many establishments are willing to donate or support but do not have the logistics for distribution and collection.
The app partners with both donors and charity groups to take care of the logistics across the country. To date, the initiative has matched over 2,000 donations for 160 charities, providing another solution to curbing food waste.
To learn about the app or support their advocacies, follow Bright Sparge’s updates on Facebook and keep tabs of The RAB Movement’s activities on Instagram.